Linuxworld in NYC was a really good time. The IDG
event
people did an excellent job at putting together a great
show in tough times. Not too many Linux companies, but it
was fun to reconnect with people. My past associates from
Linuxcare, Avery, Brad and Art O. where there mixing it up
with partners and customers. Caldera had a nice booth,
and it was great seeing Ransom and Benoy. Bumped into many
quality Turbolinux folk such as Michael Jennings, Pete
Beckman, Ly Pham and John Hayes. Ran into Dirk Hohndel,
formerly of SuSE and now with Intel in Oregon.
Participated in the Golden Penguin Bowl with Rasmus, Jeremy
(who despite his awesome knowledge of trivia seems to get
saddled with trivia-deadwood like myself- he has never won
a Golden Penguin and has been trying for years) and other
cool folks. I'm no trivia master but this time we made a
very respectable attempt to win, we only lost points once,
and the final score was close. I really wanted to spend
more time then I had with everyone. I regret I wasn't able
to hook up with Dan York, Marc Torres or Domonique Russo.
Toward the end of my stay, many unexpected meetings
consumed the bulk of available time. The mobile CDPD based
802.11 access point was a hit, although coverage was
limited to major cities. (I considered hacking Rail-Fone,
but it seemed like Amtrak needed the money more then I
needed the slow link)

Amtrak

The trip from San Francisco to New York's Penn Station
on
Amtrak takes about four days. The total ticket price was a
little over the top, $3200.00. On the other hand, I saw a
lot of the country first hand at ground level. San
Francisco to Chicago, Chicago to NYC, NYC back to Chicago,
Chicago to Seattle and Seattle to San Francisco. That's
nine days on the train in a small but comfortable room,
three good meals and snacks, and transportation. It's not
inexpensive, but I've spent more on crap that resulted in
less pleasant memories. It was nice to arrive downtown,
less then a 5-minute cab ride from the hotel. When you
weigh the cab ride to and from JFK against four days on a
train, in many respects the train wins. About the only
complaint I have is the condition of the coaches, clearly
Amtrak is suffering from budget issues. The California
Zephyr and the Empire Builder were a little like public
housing on wheels- and could use some improvements. All
things considered, I highly recommend giving it a try.

New York City

NYC was of course, fab as always. Had dinner at Union
Square with some old friends from MSN financial and
Bloomberg, famous attorneys and top Wall Street guys. I
ordered the "Fried Chicken," simply because I wondered what
fried chicken and potatoes at $35.00 a plate would taste
like. Colonel Sanders has nothing to worry about, nothing
beats the Original Recipe. I never stay as long as I
should...